Container shipping on-time performance slips to 29% in August as delays rise
Xeneta reported that global container shipping schedule reliability fell for a third straight month in August, with just 29% of vessels arriving on time. The average delay for late vessels rose from 4.2 days in July to 5.1 days in August.
On the Far East–Europe lane, on‑time performance fell ten percentage points to 6% and the average delay reached 8.2 days. Maersk remained the top carrier at 51% on time, despite a six‑point drop, while Hapag‑Lloyd slipped to 46%. Average vessel waiting time in Africa averaged 3.3 days, the highest of any region, ahead of the Middle East at 2.3 days and Southeast Asia at 1.7 days. Ten of the twelve largest carriers recorded lower reliability, narrowing the gap between best and worst performers to 45 percentage points. The Far East–Europe lane continues to contend with the operational effects of the Red Sea crisis, including longer diverted routings around Africa and North European port congestion. In South America’s East Coast trade, average delays doubled to 5.4 days following a three‑day pilotage strike at Argentine ports early in August.
Global container shipping schedule reliability fell for a third consecutive month in August, with just 29% of vessels arriving on time as disruption on the Far East–Europe trade pushed performance close to pandemic-era lows, according to analyst Xeneta. The 4-percentage-point month-to-month decline from July’s 33% on-time performance was accompanied by a sharp increase in the average delay, which rose from 4.2 days to 5.1 days.
What we know
Global container shipping schedule reliability fell for a third consecutive month in August, with just 29% of vessels arriving on time as disruption on the Far East–Europe trade pushed performance close to pandemic-era lows, according to analyst Xeneta.
The 4-percentage-point month-to-month decline from July’s 33% on-time performance was accompanied by a sharp increase in the average delay, which rose from 4.2 days to 5.1 days.
On-time performance fell 10 percentage points to 6%, while average delay reached 8.2 days, reliability levels Xeneta said had not been seen since the height of the Covid-19 supply-chain disruption in late 2021.
Maersk remained the top performer at 51% on time, despite a 6-percentage-point decline.
Africa retained its position as the world’s most congested container-shipping region in August, with vessels waiting an average of 3.3 days, ahead of the Middle East at 2.3 days and Southeast Asia at 1.7 days.